Child Care Solicitors

By Reena Sandhu

Recent reports have revealed that children being placed in care are subject to sexual abuse. This was highlighted in May when the conviction this year of nine men in a child sex ring sparked concerns about the safety of children's homes.
Children are usually removed by the Local Authority from their families as they are deemed to be at risk of significant harm however when these children are often removed they are being placed with foster carers or when there is no placement available they are being placed within Children’s homes.

Recent statistics show that whilst a child is waiting to be placed with a family and her within a residential setting they are deemed as being vulnerable to sexual exploitation and this issue needs to be addressed.

Currently there are 2,074 registered children's homes in England, Ofsted records show and these homes offer 11,765 places. There are 16 secure children's homes, providing 281 places and around three quarters of homes are run by private operators. The Annual fees per child can total £200,000.

There is a high density of children's homes in Margate, Rochdale, Blackpool and Worthing as large properties in these areas tend to be cheap. It has been found that 45% of children in care homes are placed outside of their home borough and Police figures show an estimated 10,000 children go missing from care every year.

That report suggests growing evidence that children in care are particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and that although most victims live in their family home, a disproportionate number are in residential care.
It accepts that some residential homes do a good job but says too many are failing.

The findings include evidence that some homes are targeted by abusers and that some victims are being forced to recruit other children for abuse.
The Children’s Minister Tim Loughton has now set out to make reforms to make it harder to place children in care homes outside their home boroughs, and to collect accurate data to get a clearer picture of how many children go missing from care.

The Children’s homes themselves will also be under scrutiny on check their overall effectiveness and how to improve the quality and the structure for staff.
Questions arising from the proposals will deal with why some local authorities send children to homes outside their own borough and whether such placements can meet the children's needs. The suggestions will look at how well the quality of care is monitored and whether it is appropriate to house children in areas where there are high concentrations of children's homes.

Deputy children's commissioner Sue Berelowitz will be producing a report on findings emerging from her ongoing child sexual exploitation in gangs and groups inquiry, in September.